How to get help
If you are someone you care about is facing a mental health crisis, please call 988 or 911.
To access local mental health services, contact High Plains Mental Health Center. The center's 24/7 crisis hotline is (800) 432-0333.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Sen. Roger Marshall sought to increase awareness of the farmer mental health crisis during a media call on Thursday.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Marshall said it was a good time to shed light on many of the obstacles U.S. farmers face that can take a toll on their mental health.
"We lose a farmer every day to suicide," Marshall said. "We lose more farmers to suicide than to farm accidents.
"Our whole lives, I'm a fifth-generation farm kid, we are taught farm safety. Don't stand behind a tractor. Don't stand behind a horse. But we were never taught anything about mental health."
Marshall said farmers are seeing a record drop in farm income, he asserted, because of the policies of the Biden administration.
Input costs, such as the cost of fuel as well as the interest rates, have hurt the farmers' bottom lines, Marshall said.
"They have this huge financial stress. Throw on top of that dealing with the Kansas weather, it's a big, big burden that Kansas and all farmers feel," he said.
Many small farms have been in the family for generations, and families are in danger of losing their farms, Marshall said.
"Because of all these things, we're seeing a big surge in farmer suicide," he said.
Marshall urged farmers or family members dealing with mental health issues to call or text the national crisis hotline at 988.
Marshall said he thought the 988 system is working. He said he has visited some 988 call centers and said he thought the system has adequate staff for those services.
Marshall, who is a medical doctor, said to look for signs and symptoms of depression in friends and family members, including trouble sleeping or eating.
Look for people who have withdrawn from social events like going to church or attending local sporting events, he said.
"Be a good neighbor," he said. "Reach out to that person. Sit down with that person. If it's an emergency, call 988. If not, maybe just invite them back to church, take them out for coffee, or say, 'Let's go talk to your family doctor or someone at one of the local mental health centers.'
"There are resources out there. You're not alone."
"It's a very stressful time," Marshall said. "Farmers are very proud, but it's very understandable. The stress is real. It's not in your head. The stress is absolutely real, and we're here to help you."
High Plains Mental Health Center is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, and Marshall said he will continue to fight for funding for those centers.
Medicare and Medicaid provide funding for mental health care for both low-income elderly and those on disability.
"We are not touching Medicare," Marshall said. "On the Medicaid side of things, we are fighting to strengthen it for those people who need it the most."
Marshall said most of the work on Medicaid will affect states that have expanded Medicaid, which Kansas has not.
"I can't emphasize enough that we are protecting Medicaid for seniors. Forty percent of the seniors in nursing homes are on Medicare and Medicaid. The same would be true for those people with disabilities. We will also do everything we can to protect children as well," Marshall said.
"But I don't think it's right for Kansans to be paying for Medicaid for illegal aliens, and then there's a whole slew of people who are on Medicaid fraudulently. They're enrolled in Medicaid and on food stamps in two different states at the same time and taking advantage of it," he said.
"There is no one up here working harder than me to preserve Medicaid for those people who need it the most," Marshall said.
Marshall was asked about economic development and Farm Service Agency funds that were frozen by the executive branch.
Marshall lauded $500 million in emergency commodity assistance that was distributed this year to Kansas farmers. The funds were meant to ease the pain of high input prices and low commodity prices because of the tariffs.
He said the United States Department of Agriculture put a pause on those programs to deal with fraud, waste and abuse.
"I think it is a work in progress," Marshall said. "We want as much of the money that was allocated for this to get to the farmers, so there are not middle men or it gets stuck up here in Washington."
He said the federal processes are way too complicated and hopes to see more USDA and FSA personnel back in the states and working with farmers on the front lines.
He did not say when the USDA and FSA funds would be released.